London cabbies spark 850% rise in Uber downloads

In an ironic twist, Brit black cab drivers in London probably wish that Brussels had intervened in the UK for once. As we reported back in April [2014] – ‘Brussels court rules Google-backed Uber taxi app illegal‘ the Belgians made Uber illegal in their own capital. The Uber app, backed by Google and Goldman Sachs, links up customers with private cabs whose owners don’t comply with strict licensing rules. Unlike London’s black cab taxi drivers. So cabbies protested against the app in Trafalgar Square this week. The net result? According to Uber UK’s general manager, Jo Betram, “We’ve seen an 850 per cent increase in sign-ups week-on- week.” Own goal for black cabbies, then.

In the Daily Mailhere, the newspaper quoted Ian Stephens, head of Saffron Brand Consultants, said the move had not been properly thought through.

Stephens said, “I think it is a massive own goal. Uber have come across has the consumer champion.” Particularly going by posts on social media sites, it seems.

The mistake the London cabbies made was in their failure to promote a rival app instead – Hailo.